Mapping vascular and glomerular pathology in a rabbit model of neonatal acute kidney injury using MRI

Abstract

Acute kidney injury (AKI) in premature neonates is common due to the administration of life‐saving therapies. The impact of AKI on renal morphology and susceptibility to further renal damage is poorly understood. Recent advances in radiological imaging have allowed integration of soft tissue morphology in the intact organ, facilitating a more complete understanding of changes in tissue microstructure associated with pathology. Here, we applied magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect both glomerular and vascular changes in a rabbit model of neonatal AKI, induced by indomethacin and gentamicin. Using combined spin‐echo MRI and cationic ferritin enhanced gradient‐echo MRI (CFE‐MRI), we observed (a) an increased cortical arterial diameter in the AKI cohort compared to healthy controls, and (b) focal loss of vascular density and glomerular loss in a circumferential band ~1 mm from the cortical surface. This combined use of vascular and glomerular imaging may give insight into the etiology of AKI and its impact on renal health later in life.

Introduction to a special issue on kidney development and disease

“…The contemporary application of cationic ferritin‐enhanced magnetic resonance imaging for kidney structural quantification has been extended to assess the renal vasculature in a study by collaborator A/Prof. Kevin Bennett, who showed evidence of glomerular loss and reduced vascular density in a rabbit model of neonatal acute kidney injury (Parvin, Charlton, Baldelomar, Derakhshan, & Bennett, 2020). Finally, the latest types of “omics” technologies are described by colleague A/Prof.…”

Magnetic resonance imaging accurately tracks kidney pathology and heterogeneity in the transition from acute kidney injury to chronic kidney disease

“…Other compartments of the kidney can also be targeted and evaluated by MRI with other contrast techniques. For example, it may be possible to integrate this type of work with new approaches to detecting fibrosis 39,40 or integrate the glomerular and vascular pathology 41 .…”

Clinical and experimental approaches for imaging of acute kidney injury

“…CF-MRI has been used to assess glomerular number and size. Recent reports have shown that this technique could be used for assessing renal pathology in AKI or AKI to CKD transition, including structural changes in glomeruli and renal lesion [ 52 , 53 ].…”